Washington wires $2.7bn into enrichment as the West races to de-Russify nuclear fuel
DOE task orders to Centrus, General Matter and Orano, plus Urenco's New Mexico expansion, aim to replace Russian LEU before the 2028 waiver cliff
Summary
DOE awarded $2.7bn in Enrichment task orders, $900m each to General Matter, American Centrifuge Operating (Centrus) and Orano Federal Services, plus $28m to Global Laser Enrichment, to rebuild US Uranium enrichment for both standard LEU and advanced-reactor HALEU. Urenco USA completed phase one of its Eunice, New Mexico expansion and will add 2.1m SWU (cascades 2032-2036); Centrus is converting its Ohio plant to commercial scale with Fluor. The push races the Russian-LEU import ban: waivers run only to 1 January 2028, and DOE estimates ~three years of utility inventory. Russia imposed a tit-for-tat export ban. Urenco also builds a UK Capenhurst HALEU plant for 2031.
By the numbers
- $2.7bn, total DOE enrichment task orders (Jan 2026).
- $900m, each to General Matter, Centrus and Orano; $28m to Global Laser Enrichment.
- 2.1m SWU, new capacity at Urenco's Eunice, NM plant (online 2032-2036).
- 1 Jan 2028, expiry of Russian-LEU import waivers.
- ~3 years, DOE estimate of US utility LEU inventory cushion.
Why it matters
Enrichment is the hardest link in the fuel cycle to rebuild, Russia long held ~a quarter of global capacity. The 2028 cliff turns a policy ambition into a procurement race; if Western SWU lags, utilities face either waivers, price spikes, or fuel shortfalls for the reactor fleet.
What to watch
- Whether new SWU comes online before inventories deplete near 2028.
- HALEU output scale-up for SMR and advanced-reactor first cores.
- Russian counter-measures on enrichment and conversion exports.